Saturday 9 June 2012 18.17 EDT
First published on Saturday 9 June 2012 18.17 EDT

"I'm not a cheat. I'm not a diver. I go out to play football fairly and I've done that ever since I was young. A lot of people have a lot of different opinions and things are said. But it doesn't affect me at all. Not one bit. I don't dive."

Ashley Young is, for the first time, speaking publicly about the reputation that attached itself to him last season. "I'm not out to con a referee," he says. He knows, almost certainly, that there are people who do not believe him but there is defiance in his voice. Then, point made, he asks to move on. There is no appetite to linger on the subject.

He has, after all, other things on his mind as England's squad prepare to fly out to Donetsk for Monday's game against France and, arguably, the biggest moment in his international career now Wayne Rooney's role will be that of a frustrated observer and Roy Hodgson needs someone else with the movement, agility and penetration to explore any weakness in the French defence.

It is a role Young has filled with distinction already under Hodgson, scoring the winning goal against Norway and then setting up Danny Welbeck for the decisive moment of the Belgium game. Hodgson would not say whether he would start with Andy Carroll or, more likely, Welbeck. He would not divulge his wide players either.

Young was the only attack-minded player named as a definite starter – a player, Hodgson said, "who shouts at me: 'You've got to put me in the team'".

It felt indicative of the way Young's importance for England has increased, particularly while Rooney is suspended, and the new sense of expectation surrounding him now he is at a point in his life, a month from turning 27, when Hodgson wants him to demonstrate he can be considered among the elite players in his position.

"I think he is at the right age," the England manager said. "It is the right time in his career. If he is going to be a top international player the platform is there for him in these championships. Not only that, but the years to come. He is that age. He has had a good season with Manchester United and, with all the talent he possesses, now might be the moment for him really to kick on and blossom even more."

Young, in turn, talked of thriving on that kind of added pressure. "I don't mind it all," he said, and there are certainly no signs that it is weighing heavily on those slender shoulders. "When you play for Manchester United, the pressure's on every week. Everyone wants to beat Manchester United, so when it comes to playing with pressure, it's no problem. I enjoy having a challenge.

"I remember the manager, Sir Alex [Ferguson], saying to me when I first joined United that it would be a big challenge for me. I've played a whole season now and I'm full of confidence. I'm looking forward to Monday."

At Old Trafford, Ferguson uses Young almost exclusively as a left-winger, cutting in on his right foot. This, eventually, might be where he reverts when Rooney returns for England's final group game against Ukraine but, for now, Young appears to be relishing the challenge of playing the more central role.

"I'm a versatile player. I have been throughout my career: up front, either wing or off a main striker. I want to be creative, to get on the ball, to play. That's exactly what I'm looking to do on Monday.

"I played this role for a whole season at Aston Villa and I've played it [for England] in the last few games. I've been getting on the scoresheet, getting assists. It's up to me to use my brain, be clever, find the pockets of space and get on the ball. I think I can do that."

If England are to end France's 21-match unbeaten run, Young will almost certainly have to be prominently involved. He has not had long – only one warm-up game – to work on his partnership with Welbeck, but they know each other well from Old Trafford and certainly have the pace and elusiveness to work well together.

More than anything, they will be encouraged to run at Philippe Mexès and examine whether the centre-half is as slow and overweight as a French journalist informed Young during Saturday's press conference. "I hope so," Young replied. "We know what we need to do. They're going to be a tough team to break down but we've worked on it in training."

He was smiling at that point, although there were moments when Young was required to address difficult subjects and it was clear he was uncomfortable. First, there was the issue of his alleged diving. Was it true, he was asked, that Ferguson had pulled him up on it? "We talked about it," he said, again with a note of defiance. But he would not go any further.

Then the spectre of racism raised its head and Young was reminded that he knows from bitter experience what might be lying in wait for England's black players. Last September, Young was subjected to prolonged abuse during England's game in Bulgaria. Yet he insisted: "It didn't affect me, I can't speak for the other players but I just blocked it out and had to get on with it."

The families of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have decided to stay away from the tournament, but Young is not willing to talk about whether he will have relatives in Donetsk. "I know some of the players have come out and talked about it but, for me, it's a private matter," he said. "I just hope nothing happens. It's one of those things you don't want to hear about. It shouldn't be in football, especially nowadays."

Nor does he want to dwell on Uefa's system of imposing only low fines on offending nations, in Bulgaria's case £34,000. "That's not up to me. The fines aren't up to me. It's down to Uefa, and how they deal with it. I just want to play football."

If nothing else, it shows he will not allow himself to be too distracted if there is a repeat in any of England's games. The more harrowing experience, Young recalled, came when he was playing junior Sunday-league football. "I was 11 years old and racially abused on the pitch [by another player]. It was really hard at that age. You don't expect to hear it at any age, but when you're a youngster even more so." How did he react? "I turned around, got on with the game and managed to score two goals."